Tropical Medicine

Introduction Over the past six decades, tourism has experienced continued expansion and diversification becoming one of the largest and fastest growing economic sectors in the world. Many new destinations have emerged alongside the traditional ones of Europe and North America. In the next years an increase of travelling is expected, and the number of related […]

Eschar and lymphadenopathy This clinical syndrome has been recently reported in Europe, where it is named TIBOLA (TIck-BOrne LimphAdenopaty) or DEBONEL (DErmacentor-BOrne Necrosis-Erythema-Lymphadenopathy). R. slovaca, R. rioja and R. raoultii are the etiological agents, and Dermacentor marginatus is the main vector. This tick species is distributed all over Europe as well as in the North […]

Introduction Human ehrlichioses and rickettsioses are important arthropod borne infectious diseases which are transmitted by ticks, mites, lice and fleas. Infections result in mild to fatal outcomes, with clinical presentations that resemble other tropical infectious diseases such as malaria making clinical diagnosis difficult. Despite recognition as important causes of life-threatening diseases in the United States, […]

Treatment The drug of choice for the treatment of E. chaffeensis infection is the tetracyclines (particularly doxycycline) and their derivatives. Generally, between 1 and 3 days after a patient with HME commences treatment with doxycycline, the patient becomes afebrile (Olano & Walker, 2002). However, treatment may continue for up to 10 days or at least […]

Introduction Leptospirosis is a disease of worldwide distribution present on all continents except Antarctica (Adler & Montezuma, 2010) affecting wildlife, domestic and man. Leading consequently serious socio-economic and public health. It is currently the highest incidence of zoonosis in the world, also considers as an occupational disease, and reemerging infectious disease, occurring endemic and epidemic […]

Introduction Bacteria of genus Bartonella are mainly hemotropic, intracellular gram-negative bacteria associated with erythrocytes and endothelial cells of mammals and other vertebrates (Anderson & Neuman, 1997; Schülein et al., 2001). Members within the genus have been expanded during last three decades with over 30 species or subspecies having been described. In addition to the well-known […]

Bartonella infections in bats in tropics Like rodents, bats (Order: Chiroptera) are another group of very abundant, diverse, and geographically dispersed vertebrates on the earth (Simmons, 2005; Calisher et al., 2006). Multiple studies have highlighted that bats may play an important role in serving as natural reservoirs to a variety of pathogens (Schneider et al., […]

Introduction Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by different species of Mycobacteria. Human disease is usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, also know as the Koch’s bacilli, which can affect any organ or tissue in the body. Although this, pulmonary disease, with their particular hallmarks such as occurrence of cough with expectoration lasting more than […]

Social networks in tuberculosis in Pereira, Colombia Taking in account general epidemiology of TB in Colombia and particularly at a municipality where this strategy of social networking was developed, social conditions were analyzed (Collazos et al. 2010, Jalil-Paier & Donado 2010, Ascuntar et al. 2010, Mateus-Solarte & Carvajal-Barona 2008, Jaramillo 1999). Also, in the scenarios […]

Introduction The term dengue, of Spanish origin, was used to describe joint pain from an illness that attacked the British during the epidemic that affected the Spanish West Indies from 19271928. Dengue was brought to the American continent to the Old World during the colonization in the late eighteenth century. However, it is not possible […]